The Rough Guides' Paris Directions 1 (Rough Guide Directions)

Paris Directions fits neatly into your pocket and won''t weigh you down on a short break. The full-colour introduction includes 28 themed spreads – from "Monumental Paris" and "Secret walks and hidden gardens" to "Dead Paris" and "Gourmet Paris" – to help you decide what to do, 24 hours a day. The main bulk of the guide, the "Places" section, consists of district-by-district coverage of the city, illustrated throughout. As well as sightseeing and transport info there are hundreds of smart and critically annotated listings of restaurants, bars, shopping and nightlife, all keyed to accompanying, easy-to-use maps. The language section has a useful menu reader and handy phrases to have you speaking a little French by the time you arrive.

Ruth Blackmore is a senior editor at Rough Guides, co-author of the Rough Guide to Paris and a contributor to the Rough Guide to France and the Rough Guide to Classical Music. James McConnachie is a writer and photographer from London. He is author of the forthcoming Rough Guide to The Loire, co-author of Rough Guides to Paris and Nepal and contributor to the Rough Guide to France.